Aaron & Baylie Noce DSM Wedding Day

My first wedding of 2022. There is always something extra special about my first wedding of a year. All rested up and creative juices ready to flow I was pumped for Aaron and Baylie’s wedding day to say the least 😊

Both were all smiles from start during getting ready downtown at the Des Moines Marriott to finishing up on the dance floor at Noce DSM. They did all the prep work before and truly were able to relax and have a blast during their day. I can say with confidence that they fully took in and enjoyed every moment on their wedding day, which I loved seeing and want for all my couples!

They decided to keep their wedding day small and invited 50 family members and friends. One huge plus of having a smaller wedding is that you get to spend real time interacting and experiencing the reception with your guests. And If you think less people means less of a party well Aaron and Baylie definitely proved that wrong! They had every single guest out of the dance floor up until I left. Not even tornado sirens stopped them (thank you Iowa weather). They even got me out on the dance floor with them for a song or two 😉

Thank you Aaron and Baylie for trusting me with your memories and making me feel like a close friend by the end of the day. Wishing you two a lifetime of love together 🥰

Des Moines Spring Outdoor Engagement Session | Ida & Jacob

Sometimes I get extra blessed with couples were we immediate click and feel like life long friends. The kind of couple who we just get each other and the more we learn about each other the more we ask “Did we just become best friends?”. Ida and Jacob were that couple for me this year.

Ida and Jacob ooze soulmates in the best way possible. While hanging out during their engagement session it was clear to me they are made for each other. The way the look at each other, talk about and with one another. It’s as good as it gets.

They requested nature only, so naturally we went to Water Works Park. Water Works NEVER disappoints and hit it out of the ball park for their engagement session. We got the best of the spring blooms, lake and open fields with yellow flowers sprinkled everywhere. The variety within this 2 mile radius is nuts to me (in the best way possible).

Ida and I bonded over the fact that we both thought dandelions were pretty and it was a shame people try to get rid of them. Seriously take a look at them. They add the perfect pop to these photos below 😍

If you are looking through these photos and saying “Hey! I’m a laid back Des Moines couple wanting quality photos that feel relaxed, real, fun and create memories in the process!” reach out below. We can bond over B-bops french fries being the best, Nacho Libre/Hot Rod quotes and talk about flowers that shouldn’t be considered a weed too.

The Best of Both Worlds Engagement Session with Mark & Emily

As a photographer who loves the city and nature, when couples come to me and want to incorporate both into their engagement session my heart sings.

Alexa play "The best of both worlds" by Hannah Montana.

One thing I especially love about the city of Des Moines is that downtown there is a great mix of architecture and nature together.

Walking around downtown Des Moines learning about Emily and Mark’s relationship was a blast. Ending it at Waterworks Park by the water was the cherry on top. Can you believe these two locations are only 10 minutes away from each other? Just one of the many perks of Des Moines, Iowa 🥰

I’m so excited for Emily & Mark’s big day next month and cannot wait to photograph them again, this time on their wedding day! 😊

I have 8 spots available for 2023 and can’t wait to fill them with Des Moines weddings! Are you looking for a wedding photographer for your 2023 wedding day? 👇👇👇

Important things couples don’t always know to think about *before* their wedding day

Time is the number one underestimated thing on wedding days. There is never enough time. The day will fly by and it’s common for things to take longer than expected - hair, makeup, corralling family members for family photos, traveling from one venue to a next, the receiving line, etc.

Below are common issues I see on wedding days that in hind sight could have easily been avoided if thought out fully before hand. Disclaimer: every wedding has something that doesn’t seem to go as planned. We are all human and things happen. BUT with simple planning and thinking through some of the not so fun moments of the day will help keep issues from popping up and surprising you on your wedding day 🙂

Hair & Makeup

Important questions to consider…

Do you have enough stylists for your wedding party?

Are you starting early enough for what you want?

If each person’s hair takes 30 minutes and makeup also takes 30 minutes and you have 10 people who need both done that is 600 minutes total. So you would need a minimum of a 4 person team to get it done in under 3 hours.

Make sure you think about the order. If you want your mom or maid of honor’s hair and makeup to be done for getting ready photos make sure they are closer to the top of the list. Make sure things are delegated to non core members of your bridal party and getting ready to ensure you aren’t waiting on them to get your day started and so they can relax and enjoy the day along side of you.

If you want a first look with all your bridesmaids fully dressed, all hair and makeup will need to be complete by the scheduled first look time. You might be thinking duh Megan after reading, this but I’ve had to wait 30+ minutes before because this wasn’t thought out before the day of.

Reading Letters/Vows

If you want your videographer to capture you speaking letters or any special words out loud expect it to take at least 10 minutes per letter. You will also need a completely quiet room to do this.

Family Photos

Make sure every person knows where and when they need to be for family photos. It is not uncommon for one person to be running late or for someone to forget to tell one specific family member when to arrive for photos.

One huge way to help this issue, is to delegate a family or non-family member to be in charge of rounding up people for family photos. Having a designated point person will save a lot of time and stress when family photos happen especially if you have a lot of combinations or large families.

Driving Time

Do you have to drive from a getting ready space to the ceremony venue?

Do you have to drive from the ceremony venue to the reception venue?

Do you want to drive from the venue to a photo location?

If you answered yes to any of these questions make sure to map out the times of these. Each of these will add time to your day. If it takes 15 minutes delegate 25 extra minutes. The day of things always seem to take longer due to talking, all the moving parts of your day, looking for parking downtown, and walking time. It’s better to have extra 15 minutes (to breathe, sneak away, go to the bathroom, eat a snack) then to be running around running 30 minutes behind the entire day and feeling stressed.

Party Bus Travel Time

Party Buses always take long to get to venues than expected due to the bus not being able to go as fast and usually the driver taking the scenic route.

If you want your reception to start at 6pm and are going on a party bus from 5-6pm make sure to tell the driver you need to be back by 6pm at the latest.

If had busses be anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour late to reception venues. Delegate someone on your bus as the time keeper to make sure you get to your venue on time.

Down Time

Do you have any downtime built into your timeline? If you don’t, you need it to take a breather, hydrate, eat, go to the bathroom or maybe you are an introvert and just need to sneak away for a solid 15 minutes just bride and groom after the ceremony. Scheduling this time is valuable and will pay off.

None of the above things are mind blowing. But they are commonly missed because of all the big things that need to be planned. Planning a wedding is a lot. The biggest thing you can do to prevent forgetting any of these things is by delegating. Delegation saves you time, tears and stress. Trust the people you hire and those closest to you and you won’t regret it. In my experience I’ve found it will help you let go and fully enjoy your wedding day. 🥰

Olivia & Grant Engagement Session

Olivia and I went to high school together. Grant and I played tennis together in college. So you can imagine my excitement when Olivia reached out to me and said her and Grant were engaged and wanted me to be their wedding photographer. 😀 I love when different parts of my life collide and I get the honor to document them! Both Olivia and Grant had such a calm and gentle presence and it truly reflected how perfect of a match they are for each other in the way the talked and treated each other during the session.

How cute is Finnegan? I’m convinced he is one of the goodest boys out there 🐶 🐾

Olivia wanted fall colors in their engagement photos and mother nature really hit that out of the park this last fall in Des Moines 🙂 I’m so excited to photograph them again on their wedding day this summer at the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden!